Pattiewack is crazy for pompoms and tassels, sewing and crafting, and living a stylish life through DIY projects she has stamped with her personal touch.
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Sunday, February 21, 2010

St. Patrick's Day is March 17th, and it'll be the perfect day to show off your crafty side with this snazzy little shamrock captured in a charm with Aleene's® Paper Glaze. It dries to a hard, nontacky glass-like finish to accentuate design details for dimensional designs and laminating effects on paper.

Believe it or not, the shamrock isn't real. I found it by "googling" shamrock and it was easy to find actual photos of the real thing. So, I simply printed it out, and I was ready to craft!

First, I cut two 1” wide circles from white cardstock. Then I printed the shamrock image from the web to fit inside 1” circle.

I glued an earring hook between the two circles of cardstock with Aleene’s® Original Tacky Glue®, exposing only the ring of the earring for joining to the chain when completed. (That's why I never throw any old jewelry away when it breaks... you can always use strays for crafting later.)

Next, I carefully cut out the shamrock and glued it to one side of the charm and let it dry.

I wanted both sides to look nice, so I turned the charm over to the backside and glued green Tulip® Glam-It-Up!™ Iron-On Crystals™ over the entire circle. Yes, I know the crystals are iron-ons, but they are positively wonderful to glue to paper!

After the crystals dried on the back of the charm I turned it over to the front and glued crystals around the outside edge, circling the shamrock.

Next comes the amazing part. I squeezed a thin layer of Aleene's® Paper Glaze over the shamrock, carefully covering to the edge of crystals. That's what makes it look like resin, and all shiny. It's important to let it dry overnight before you touch it, so you don't get your fingerprints on it and make it dull.

Last of all, I used needle-nose pliers to attach my lucky charm to a chain with a jump ring.

There ya go....A cute little lucky charm to wear or give away on St. Paddy's Day!